Pass the Controller | Latest news, reviews and reviews in video games
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Forum
  • About
    • Contact
    • Meet the Team
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Forum
  • About
    • Contact
    • Meet the Team
>

BATMAN: The Telltale Series - Episode 3: New World Order | Xbox One

6/11/2016

 
Picture

After a disappointing second outing, New World Order elbows Telltale’s take on the Dark Knight back on track. As the centre point of the story, it fittingly serves as a meaty filling on which to chew by placing a focus on the strengths established in the opener that were, unfortunately, largely abandoned by its successor.

Picture

by Sam
​Sant

Picture

@SlamShotSam


Picture
Developer: Telltale 
Games
Publisher: Telltale
Games
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3, PC, Mac, iOS, Android
Players: 1 - 12
As Bruce Wayne faces continued scrutiny following the unearthing of his family’s muddied past, the Children of Arkham - who made a strong debut in the previous episode - move to challenge Gotham’s established authorities. Struggling to combat their uprising, desperate GCPD Commissioner Jim Gordon adopts the iconic Bat-Signal and reluctantly allies with the World’s Greatest Detective.

The player shares Gordon’s feelings of helplessness throughout the episode as they lead Bruce on an inevitable trip to rock bottom. Mr. Wayne loses his namesake to an unthinkable replacement, his friend to mental illness, and his technology to compromise. These misfortunes culminate in a rattling sense of injustice that’ll have even the most stoic onlookers firmly rooting against the series’ antagonists, though begrudgingly still able to appreciate their motivations.

A leading neerdowell and BDSM fanatic (cannot actually confirm), the Children of Arkham’s leader reveals himself to be a seasoned, staff-wielding martial artist and a follower of the “fear is power” creedence that Batman himself isn’t unfamiliar with. Whilst there are some clues as to his identity in there, for now the purveyor of a New World Order remains anonymous and a curious driving force going forward. We can only hope the reveal ruffles as many feathers as when Hulk Hogan was outed way back when… (To clarify, he shockingly turned bad to lead the NWO wrestling faction. Pseudo-similes are probably like jokes and lose their lustre when you have to explain them, right?)

​Whilst Bats engages not-Hulk-Hogan in fisticuffs, the sparing use of combat in the episode is definitely to its benefit. There are no drawn-out planning phases that succeed in spite of your choices, and quick time events aren’t abundant enough to become wearisome. The reclaimed runtime also sees the return of investigations, albeit not as engagingly gruesome this time around.
Gotham is in shambles, undesirables are in positions of power, and we need to intervene.
Picture
Picture
On the topic of irrelevant choices, they’re still very much a constant presence. Most notably we devoted ourselves to a central character in an effort to prevent the obvious occurring, but it did anyway. Telltale’s take on this character's transformation is admittedly grabbing though, so it’s hard to hold it against them too much. The iconic villain is born of both stress and paranoia that develop into crippling mental illness, rather than being overtly maniacal for evil's sake.

Grey morality also seeps into the relationship that blossomed with Selina Kyle in episode two, forcing you to question your allegiances once again (not that anyone in their right mind should ever really trust Catwoman). These scenes are a case study on Batman’s flawed humanity, and we take great interest in watching them unfold as a result.

With a glut of engaging characters, relationships and events simultaneously unfurling, we only wish we could binge our way to the end Netflix-style. Gotham is in shambles, undesirables are in positions of power, and we need to intervene. The cliffhanger ending and a tantalising preview of what’s to come certainly won’t make the wait any easier.

Pros

  • A return to form for the series
  • Characters are now full enough to evoke emotional response
  • Like a car crash, you can’t stop staring as things go brutally wrong
  • Still offering unexpected surprises, even for Bat-fans
  • Left us excited for the last couple of episodes

Cons

  • Continued technical hitches
  • Choices still fail to make any significant narrative impact

Score 8/10
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.



    READ MORE

    News
    Features
    Videos

    Comment Here


    Categories

    All
    Action Adventure
    Adventure
    Air Combat
    Arcade
    Family
    Fighter
    Hardware
    Horror
    Indie
    Open World
    Platformer
    Puzzler
    Racing
    Role Playing
    Shmup
    Shooter
    Sim
    Sports
    Stealth
    Strategy
    Survival
    Virtual Reality


    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016


    RSS Feed

Pass the Controller

News
Reviews
Features
​
Videos
Forum
About

The Forums

Gaming Discussion
Xbox
PlayStation
PC Gaming
Nintendo
Off Topic
​Achievements and Trophies

What is PTC

About Us
​Meet the Team
​
Contact Us
OpenCritic
Find our reviews on OpenCritic
vrgamecritic
Find our reviews on vrgamecritic
© COPYRIGHT 2014-2019 PTC / JMP.
​ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.